Peter Thiel

Where he made money: Founding Thiel Capital in 1996 (the fund was renamed Clarium Capital in 2002), investing in Facebook and by founding PayPal in 1998, eventually selling the online payment firm to eBay.

Steve Mandel, Jr.

Louis Bacon

Where he made money: Founding Moore Capital. During the first year of his hedge fund's launch, Bacon apparently garnered an 86% return on his investments by betting that the Gulf War would cause oil prices to spike.

5/

Alan Howard

Where he made money: On the European bond desk at Salomon Brothers, leading the proprietary trading desk at Credit Suisse First Boston, and launching the massive London-based hedge fund Brevan Howard in 2002.

Eddie Lampert

Where he made money: Founding ESL Investments. Boons in his career include the Sears, Roebuck & Co. merger with Kmart in 2004 (the firm is currently ESL's largest investment and returning at a margin of 160% over the past twelvemonth).

Ray Dalio

Robert Bass

Where he made money: Family money - he's a descendant of baron Sid Richardson, managing (with his siblings) one of the nation's largest private oil conglomerates, and founding Oak Hill Capital Management.